Hold or Fold
by Capn Skillet
Summary: The story of Gambit as I would write it for the X-Men movie universe.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: These events take place in the X-men movie universe, and the story draws from some events in the movies but differs in some ways as well. If you disagree with a direction I take characters or stories, remember this is nothing official and you are welcome to write reviews.

Chapter 1: Deal Me In

The door to the holding cells of a high security prison for mutants slid open and two figures entered. One was a warden at the prison, a tall African American man who had the look of military personnel about him. He had a thin mustache and a stern look about him as he spoke with the second man, an older, bald man who sat in a motorized wheelchair.

"We had to put him in a special cell, Professor," said the warden. "The first day we locked him behind bars, and he blew the door open. We knew he was a mutant, but we didn't know how dangerous he was until then."

The man in the wheelchair, Professor Charles Xavier, looked over a chart he held in his hands on the prisoner in question. "Yes," replied Xavier, "I have been watching this one for a while."

"What do you mean?" the warden asked, somewhat confused.

"Do not worry, Sergeant Hardy," said Xavier. "He will be safe with me at my school."

"I'm not worried about him being safe," said Sergeant Hardy, "I'm worried about everybody else."

"Don't be," said Xavier with a reassuring smile.

"Here we are," said Hardy. "Stay back when I open the door, in case he tries anything."

The sergeant swiped his security card through the door and input a code on the number pad. A slight hiss accompanied the opening of the cell door.

A tall, slender young man with shaggy brown hair sat in the corner, wearing his orange prison outfit. His room seemed devoid of anything other than a simple cot and a toilet, both of which were made into the floor and would not detach. The young man held a deck of playing cards, flicking them across the room one at a time, striking the wall with a thump each time.

"Someone here to see you Remy," said Hardy. "Be nice and he might hold your ticket out of here."

"Mr. Remy LeBeau?" asked Professor Xavier.

"Who's askin'?" replied the prisoner in a thick Cajun accent. As he looked at Xavier, Remy's eyes momentarily glowed red like hot coals.

"I am Professor Charles Xavier," he replied. "I want to help you."

"That's what everybody always say," Remy said, flicking another card across the room, this one hitting the metal wall exceptionally hard. "Then I jus' end up right back where I started."

"Remy," Xavier continued. "I run a special school for mutants, where you can learn to fully control your powers and have a place to live around others of your kind."

"My kind?" Remy flicked another card, again hitting the wall hard. "My kind always end up in here or dead in a gutter, and don't nobody care. Bad enough bein' a thief, but a mutant thief… I may as well jump in the Mississippi."

"You don't have to steal any more, Remy," said Xavier. "Your schooling, your housing, and your food will all be taken care of if you join my school."

"Let me get this straight, mon ami," said Remy. "Some rich school teacher shows up and offers to get me outta jail and give me a place to stay and free food? I don't buy it!" He drew another card from the deck, but this time before throwing the card his eyes began to glow again. Soon the card began to glow the same as his eyes, and he flicked it across the room as he had done before. This time, when the card struck the wall, a slight explosion triggered, startling both Xavier and Hardy.

Hardy drew his weapon, which held tranquilizer darts and prepared to fire.

"No Hardy," said Xavier, holding out his hand to push back Hardy's gun. He looked into Remy's eyes.

"You like to play games of chance, I hear," said Xavier.

"Tha's why they call me Gambit," said Remy.

"How about we settle this with a game of chance then," said Xavier.

"Name your game and your terms," said Remy, shuffling his cards.

"The terms are as follows," Xavier began. "If you win then we release you from prison and you may go about your life how you see fit. If I win, then you return to my school with me and enroll as a student, never to leave without permission."

"Xavier, you can't just make a deal like that," said Hardy.

_Trust me_, Hardy heard Xavier say, but he did not see the man's lips move.

"The game shall be blackjack," said Xavier. "Now deal us in, Remy."

Remy began to shuffle the cards again, his nimble fingers working very quickly. He dealt both himself and Xavier two cards, one facedown and the other face up, Xavier showing a five and Remy a ten.

"I will stand," said Xavier without even looking at his facedown card.

Remy laughed. "You must never have played blackjack, mon ami. You don't stay with a five face up and not even knowing what you got facedown. "Remy looked at the deuce in his own hand, and having a total of twelve knew he only needed sixteen at most to win the hand. "Okay, I'll take a hit."

Remy flipped over the top card, and a ten showed face up. "By gumbo!" said Remy flipping over his cards, having gone bust with a total of twenty-two.

Xavier smiled and flipped over his other card, which was only a three, giving him the win with only a total of eight. "Looks like I win."

"How'd you do that?" Remy asked. "You tricked me. Nobody tricks Gambit!"

_No tricks Remy_, said the voice of Xavier in Remy's head. _I want to help you, not use you as so many others have. There are many like you at my school._ Remy was then bombarded with images of other mutants who had led difficult lives but found their redemption at Xavier's school.

"So Gambit," Xavier said. "You won't be known as the gambler who breaks agreements will you?"

Remy closed his eyes and shook his head to gather his thoughts. "I guess not," he said. "But I need to add one more condition."

"What might that be?" Xavier asked.

"I gotta have some better clothes than this," he said, indicating his orange jumper. "No way the ladies gonna join my game with this getup."

"Very well," said Xavier with a warm smile. "Then let's go, Remy."

"Name's Gambit, professor," he replied. "I say we leave Remy back on the Bayou."

"Alright, Gambit."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: House Rules Chapter 2: House Rules

"Welcome to my school, Gambit," said Xavier as the two approached the mansion. "We have a room already prepared for you, and we will discuss your class schedule later."

Gambit now wore a long brown trench coat unbuttoned with black pants and shirt underneath. He lit up a cigarette and took a puff before picking up his suitcase. "Sounds good. Nice place you got here mon ami."

"Thank you," said Xavier, leading the way to the front doors. "I should inform you that Xavier's School is a smoke free facility."

"Figures," said Gambit, taking one more long drag from his cigarette before causing it to suddenly disintegrate into ash between his fingers.

As Xavier and Gambit entered the mansion, they were greeted quickly by a man and woman, both wearing sleek black outfits. The man also wore a strange visor over his eyes, but the red-haired woman drew more of Gambit's attention.

"Professor," said the young man. "We're glad you are okay."

"What do you mean Scott?" Xavier asked.

"We just heard there was an attack at the mutant detention facility," said the red-haired woman. "We were worried about you."

"We are fine," said Xavier. "Was Magneto behind the attacks?"

"We think so," said Scott. "The news said mutants were suspected. Storm and Wolverine were headed that way to make sure you were okay and look over the scene. You just missed them."

"What kinda school is this?" Gambit asked, not expecting students at a school to be involved in such events.

"I will explain later," said Xavier. "Scott, Jean, this is Gambit, the young man I told you about."

"Welcome to Xavier's school, Gambit. I'm Jean Grey," said Jean, offering her hand to him.

Gambit took her hand, but rather than shaking it, he bent his head down and kissed it. "Gambit feels welcome, Chere," he said with a wry smile.

The man next to Jean cleared his throat.

"My boyfriend, Scott," said Jean.

"Also known as Cyclops," said Scott, giving Gambit a very firm handshake.

"Figures," Gambit said as he had earlier. "I knew a catch like her must have a hook."

"Gambit is the one Magneto was after, most likely," said Xavier, breaking the tension. "He will be starting classes tomorrow, as well as personal tutelage from me on controlling his powers."

"You're in the right place, Gambit," said Jean. "The professor has helped more mutants than anyone with their powers."

"Scott, please show Gambit to his room," said Xavier. "I must contact Storm to let them know we are safe."

Scott nodded and motioned for Gambit to follow him. He led the younger man to an elevator and both entered, Scott pressing the button to take them to the second floor.

"They call you Cyclops 'cause you got one eye?" Gambit asked, looking curiously at Scott's visor.

"I could take my visor off and show you," said Scott with a smirk. "But no, I have both eyes. Unfortunately, when I open them, powerful beams of energy come out. The visor blocks the beams until I need them."

The elevator bell chimed and the doors opened.

"Reminds me of the phrase, if looks could kill…" Gambit said to himself.

"They can," Scott said, half joking and half serious. "Your room is the second on the right. You'll be roommates with Wolverine. Good luck with that."

"What you mean good luck?" Asked Gambit.

"Logan—that is, Wolverine—is kind of a loner," Scott replied. "But we're running low on rooms. He's kind of rough around the edges, and I don't exactly enjoy his company, but in a fight there's no one I'd rather have on my side."

"Maybe he likes cards," said Gambit, taking the deck out and beginning to shuffle them.

"Honestly," Scott said. "He's gone about as often as he is here. I'll leave you to unpacking. There are plenty of people about, and most of them are helpful if you need anything. Tomorrow we can give you a proper tour. Take it easy, Gambit."

"You do the same, Cyc," Gambit replied, offering a friendly parting nod. He put his suitcase on the bed and opened it, beginning to take out his few possessions, many of which were clothes that he had just bought on the way home from the prison.

Someone knocked on the slightly open door and pushed it fully open. "Logan?" a female voice asked.

"Bless me!" said Gambit as he turned and saw a girl near his own age standing in the doorway. She had dark hair, but a curious streak of gray ran down the front. "You can call me Logan if you like."

"Oh, I'm sorry," said the young lady, unsure of the identity of the stranger.

"I'm not," said Gambit. "What's your name, Southern Belle?"

"I'm Rogue," she said, entering the room. "You must be the one the professor was talking about."

"Gambit," he said, offering his hand.

Rogue did not take his hand but simply nodded.

Gambit withdrew his hand awkwardly and ran it through his thick brown hair. "Logan went out on some mission or other. Somebody attacked the jail I was in right after the Professor bailed me out."

"Why were you in prison?" asked Rogue.

"Partly for stealin' and partly for bein' born, I figure," said Gambit. "What kind of school is this any way? What with people running off to fight crime on a school day."

Rogue smiled. "It is a school, but it is also the headquarters of the X-Men, a group of mutants who help keep the peace between humans and mutants."

"So I guess them fancy black outfits are what the X-Men wear," said Gambit. "I met two of them. One named Cyclops and a lovely lady named Jean."

"Yes, Cyclops is the leader of the X-Men," said Rogue. "He's a great guy, but he can be patronizing sometimes."

"You one of the X-Men too?" Gambit asked.

Rogue sighed. "They say I'm not old enough, but I think…"

"Marie, there you are," said another male voice from behind Rogue. Another young guy about their age appeared in the doorway.

"Hey Bobby," said Rogue. "This is Gambit, the new guy the Professor just brought in. Gambit, this is Bobby Drake—my boyfriend."

"Figures," said Gambit again, shaking hands with Bobby.

"What do you mean?" asked Bobby.

"Ah nothing," said Gambit. "Ya'll play cards?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Wild Card

The dorm room door opened, revealing a middle-aged man with messy hair and a rough appearance standing in the doorway holding a bag over his shoulder. "Hey kids," said Logan, the man known as Wolverine.

"Logan!" said Rogue, dropping her cards and rushing to give Logan a hug, causing an uncomfortable moment for both Bobby and Logan.

"Who's the new guy?" Logan asked, noticing someone he had not seen before.

"Oh this is Gambit," said Rogue. "He's your new roomie!"

"Roomie?" Logan did not seem pleased at the prospect of a roommate. "I guess this is payback for taking One-eye's motorcycle a while back."

"It'll be good for you, Logan," Rogue said. "Gambit's a real sweet guy."

"I'm sure he is," said Logan, giving a not so friendly look toward Gambit.

"I don't have to stay where I'm not wanted," said Gambit, gathering his cards. He stood and started to get his suitcase from the bed.

"Hey don't get all bent out of shape," said Logan. "I can handle it. Just don't expect me to read bedtime stories or play X-box with you."

"None of that stuff, Wolverine," Gambit said. "But I hear you're pretty mean in a fight. I figured we could use that training room, no? Iron sharpens iron and all."

"Any time you're ready, kid," said Logan. "But adamantium breaks iron."

"What's that mean?" asked Gambit.

"You'll see," said Logan. "I'll meet you in the danger room after dinner and show you the ropes. Right now I have to meet with Storm and the Professor about what we found at that prison."

"What did you find?" asked Bobby.

"Seems like my new roomie is a popular person, at least in some circles," said Logan. "Some of Magneto's goons came to bust him out, but the Professor got there first. They just missed each other."

"Was… _he_ one of them?" Rogue asked with sadness in her eyes.

"I'm afraid so, kid, judging from the fire damage at the prison." said Logan. "He's gone as bad as they go. Sorry." With that said, Logan left the room, never enjoying emotional moments.

Bobby embraced Rogue as she tried to hold back her tears.

"Who we talkin' about?" Gambit asked.

"A friend of ours named John," said Bobby. "He went to school here, but he left us and joined Magneto. Now he goes by the name Pyro."

"What's so good 'bout joinin' with Magneto?" Gambit asked.

"Nothing!" said Rogue emphatically. "He's evil. I wish the Professor had just gotten rid of him when he had the chance."

"John liked to show off," said Bobby. "And he felt like Professor Xavier held him back from his potential. Magneto basically lets him run wild and do what he wants."

"I always heard you can't tame a wild gator," said Gambit. "Well, I'm thinkin' about grabbin' some grub."

"We'll show you the dining hall," said Rogue.

The three left the dorm room to head off to dinner.


End file.
